BLACK CATS COME BACK FROM DEAD
Cookie delight at second half fight
CHRIS Coleman described the response of his Sunderland team to being three goals down at the break as “absolutely magnificent”.
Lee Johnson’s City looked to have the game wrapped up by the interval thanks to a first-half double from Famara Diedhiou after Aden Flint had opened the scoring.
But the Sunderland fans who left early missed a storming comeback that featured own goals from Josh Brownhill and Marlon Pack either side of an Aiden McGeady strike.
The drama left Coleman admitting: “At 3-0 down it looked like being four or five and I am thinking, ‘Here we go again’. We deserved to be booed off at halftime by fans who had travelled so far. I have no complaints about that.
“There were a few home truths spoken in the dressing room, but what happened in the second half was totally down to the players. I’m not taking any of the credit. The reaction from them was absolutely magnificent and that’s what we will concentrate on going forward.
“The clubs that get out of relegation trouble will not necessary have the best teams. They will need a battling spirit and that’s what we showed.
“I had more of a go at my players at the end than at half-time because the performance in the two halves was so different.”
Sunderland’s first-half defending had relegation written all over it.
Flint was allowed to control Pack’s fifth-minute free-kick inside the box, take a touch towards goal and fire home unchallenged from six yards.
On 31 minutes Diedhiou ran clear onto a Bobby Reid through ball and, although his first shot was blocked by goalkeeper Lee Camp, the ball broke for him to hammer home at the second attempt.
Sunderland looked vulnerable to every attack and conceded again six minutes later when a swift City break ended with Ryan Kent’s low cross from the right being slid home by the stretching Diedhiou.
A 5-0 first half lead would not have flattered the hosts. But they lost Reid at the break and never looked the same.
Danger signs were there when Lee Cattermole’s 70thminute header came back off the crossbar and was inadvertently knocked over his own goalline by Brownhill.
Substitute McGeady made it 3-2 with a low shot from Cattermole’s free-kick into the box, and City goalkeeper Frank Fielding made an outstanding save from Ashley Fletcher before the visitors equalised.
Johnson was left raging on the touchline when substitute Kazenga Lualua tricked his way to the byline on the right and saw his stoppage-time cross fly in off Pack.
Johnson said: “We should have had a penalty at 3-1 when Jamie Paterson had his shirt pulled when one-on-one with the goalkeeper. It was a big decision that went against us.
“But I’m not blaming that. We should have seen things out, particularly when Frank Fielding made an unbelievable late save, but it wasn’t to be.
“I blame myself partly for not sending on an extra midfield player in the second half and killing off the game. But I felt there were more goals for us.
“In the end we have been lazy in our defending and I find that very difficult to understand.”